Saving the Day
by Concave Patterns
Summary: Five times Felicity saves Oliver's butt and one time he returns the favour.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: Oliver investigates a lead on Walter's whereabouts but things don't turn out as planned.  
_

Felicity sat in the dark of the foundry with only the soft glow of her computer screens providing enough light for her to work. Eyes never leaving the monitor before her, she adjusted her glasses and continued clacking away on the keyboard, bringing up different views from the many security cameras placed in the abandoned building that Oliver was currently searching.

Finally, she found his location on a camera in the north wing of the building. She brought the full-sized image up onto her computer screen and watched as he slid through the shadows effortlessly, like the darkness was an extension of his own body. The man never ceased to amaze her. And annoy her. And stress her out.

Right now, she was all stress. Her stomach felt off, like her gut was telling her that something bad was going to happen tonight.

"I don't like this, Oliver." She finally voiced her opinion aloud by whispering into the microphone of her headset.

On screen, she saw him still in response to her words.

"Why, what's wrong?" His voice came back low and gravelly in her ear.

"If Walter is really in this building, then where's all the security?" Felicity questioned aloud, more to herself than to Oliver, "He's a billionaire and a respected public figure. Everyone is looking for him. Wouldn't you expect his captors to take major precautions to keep his whereabouts a secret?"

"You don't think he's here?" was Oliver's calm reply, "All the signs pointed to this location."

"This place is too quiet. It doesn't feel right." Felicity frowned and shifted in her chair, still unable to shake her uneasiness.

"Let me finish this floor and then I'll head back to the cave, ok?"

She smiled a little at his reply. Lately she had taken to calling their little lair the "Arrow Cave" and Oliver had finally relented, occasionally referring to it as that as well.

"Ok," Felicity responded, doing another quick scan of her screens, "you're all clear up ahead. When you reach the end of the hall, take the door on your left. It's a stairwell that will get you to the ground floor, then back outside."

"Thanks, Felicity." His voice softened with gratitude and she saw him continue down the hall stealthily.

Still feeling a nagging doubt in her stomach, Felicity decided to scan some additional information on the building. It was the former headquarters of a company that had gone under after the CEO was convicted of embezzlement. The property had never sold after that, with businessmen too superstitious to start their companies with a history like that hanging over their heads. Now it was run-down and decrepit, located in the outskirts of the city with no surrounding structures. The perfect place to keep the victim of a kidnapping.

Felicity's fuchsia pink lips pressed together in thought. Her instincts were never wrong, and right now they were telling her that Oliver was in serious trouble.

She began to pull up blueprints and 3D reconstructions of the building, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing, she decided to switch the security camera footage from the eerie green glow of night vision to thermographic imaging instead.

Scanning her screens, she saw Oliver's body in bright reds and yellows. Scientific proof that he had a hot body, Felicity thought with a grin.

Suddenly something caught her eye. In the room next to where Oliver was standing, she saw a pink glow. Not large enough or hot enough to be a human, and she knew from her research that the building's electricity had been cut years ago. There was absolutely no reason for something to be giving off heat inside that office.

Her stomach pooled with dread as Felicity gripped her microphone, "Oliver, get out of there right now." She spoke firmly, trying not to let her voice wobble with fear.

"Fel-"

"It's a trap. There's an explosive in the next room. Oliver, _get out NOW!_" She shrieked into her headset.

Her heart was pounding and the image on her monitor started to swim in front of her eyes. She vaguely registered seeing Oliver burst through the door that lead to the stairs, then there was fire. A great, loud explosion that she heard through her headset and saw erupting on screen.

Trying desperately to regain some of her composure, Felicity fumbled for her cell phone and was just about to hit 'speed dial 2' for Diggle when she heard Oliver's voice in her ear.

"Felicity, you there?"

"Y-yeah. Yes." She answered more steadily, "Are you ok?"

"Fine." She heard him exhale loudly, "I'm on my way. Call Dig?"

"I'm on it." She answered, disconnecting her microphone and taking off the headset.

She allowed herself 30 seconds to close her eyes and breathe deeply before picking up her phone to text their other partner in crime.

Diggle was positioned half way across the city, dressed in a green suit identical to Oliver's, ready to create a diversion if they had needed it tonight.

Her fingers flew over the screen as she typed out a message and hit 'send'.

_No luck. Will explain once you're here._

Diggle's reply was full of concern and once Felicity assured him that everyone was alright, she sat back in her chair and thought over the night's events as she waited for the boys to get back.

That had been a close call. Too close. When she had realized that pink dot had been a bomb, her body had gone icy cold and she couldn't breathe. Only one thought had run through her head.

_Oliver._

She took off her glasses and laid them on the table before rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Oliver Queen, you'll be the death of me." She muttered to herself.

"I certainly hope not."

His voice spooked her. She hadn't heard him descend the stairs into the cave.

Felicity immediately jumped up from her chair, stumbling a bit as her heel caught on one of the casters that allowed her to roll back and forth between her many monitors. She quickly righted herself and shoved her glasses back on her face.

She must have looked a mess with eyes wide and cheeks flushed from his unexpected entrance.

Before fully realizing what she was doing, she rushed towards him and flung her arms over his shoulders, knocking the breath out of him as she hugged him tightly.

She felt his chest rumble with amusement before he secured his arms around her.

"I was worried." Her voice was muffled against the leather of his Hood outfit.

"I wasn't" He replied.

She tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "Are you out of your freaking mind, Oliver? You could have been blown to bits and you weren't the slightest bit afraid? That's messed up. This hero-complex thing-"

"Felicity," he cut her off and gazed down at her with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "I wasn't worried because I had the most intelligent, capable, _remarkable_ computer whiz looking out for me every step of the way."

His smile was contagious and she couldn't help but return it even though she was still pissed that he'd put himself in such danger. "Yeah, well your whiz nearly had a heart attack tonight so _please _be careful, ok?"

She felt his lips brush her forehead as he whispered a promise against her skin, making her shiver.

"Always."


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all your great responses to Chapter 1! I appreciate every review, follow and favourite.

* * *

_Summary: When Oliver returns to the foundry with an injury, Felicity reluctantly plays doctor._

It was a quiet night in Starling City.

The Hood had successfully stopped an attempted robbery at - of all places - the Queen Consolidated building, and was now on his way back to the Arrow Cave. Luckily, it was late enough at night that his mother was safely tucked away in bed rather than sitting in her corner office. The only injury the robbers managed to inflict was a bump to the head of a security guard. The guard would have one hell of a headache tomorrow, but otherwise Oliver considered the night to be a rare, casualty-free success.

He wheeled his motorcycle out of the dark alley where he had stashed it earlier and was about to pull the helmet over his head when he heard a noise.

It was just a small scuffle of a sound that could have easily been a raccoon rooting through trash or a piece of litter blowing across the pavement. In fact, a normal person probably wouldn't have even noticed it. But Oliver Queen was not normal. Oliver Queen had spent five years trapped on an island where his only options were to train his body for escape, or die.

He stood stock-still, focusing on controlling his breathing and weeding out all of the background noise of the city.

When he heard the sound again, he was certain that the noise was accompanied by a muffled shout this time.

Abandoning his bike and helmet in the shadowed alley once again, he pulled his hood further over his eyes and strode towards the noise, bow gripped tightly in his gloved hand.

He had been right.

Around the corner, a young group of three or four teenagers were hustling a middle-aged man, demanding his wallet and cell phone.

Oliver notched an arrow and drew it back, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his presence known. When he saw a knife glinting in the hand of one of the punks, he released the arrow. It sailed through the air and hit its intended target perfectly, as always. The tip of the arrow hit the knife's blade, causing the weapon to fall out of the teen's hand.

"What the hell!" The kid shouted, bending to reach for the piece of steel. A second arrow landed just inches from his outstretched hand.

Oliver stepped forward with his bow at the ready, "Leave. Now. Or my aim won't be so forgiving next time."

The threat, combined with the deep voice of his alter ego, had the intended effect and the three onlookers took off running. The mugging victim snatched up his belongings from the ground with shaking hands. After a grateful and somewhat frightened glance at Oliver, he ran as well.

The one remaining teen either had a death wish or a real problem with authority. He stood his ground and raised the knife at Oliver. "You won't kill me." He stated arrogantly.

"Maybe I won't," Oliver conceded, "But I have no problem with maiming you."

He rushed forward, knocking the knife away and throwing the teen to the ground. The kid was fast though, rolling away from Oliver and managing to kick him in the side.

Oliver recovered quickly, dropping into a defensive stance as his eyes scanned the pavement looking for the knife. He saw it a short distance away and made a move for it while the teen was still recovering from a blow to the ribs that Oliver had delivered with the end of his bow.

Oliver faltered, feeling his legs slip out from underneath him. The kid had grabbed his ankle and pulled him down. They fought some more, throwing punches and kicks, each struggling to get free of the other.

Then Oliver felt a burning fire slice through his shoulder. He bit back a grunt of pain and looked down to see the knife protruding from his upper body.

The kid stared at Oliver with round fearful eyes as it dawned on him that he had stabbed the feared Starling City vigilante. "Oh, shit." He breathed, quickly scrambling to his feet and running away without a single glance back.

"Beaten by a stupid punk-ass kid," Oliver fumed, gritting his teeth as he pulled the knife from his shoulder, "You're off your game tonight, Queen." He slipped the knife into the pocket of his green leather outfit. He'd have Felicity pull a fingerprint from the weapon later and run it through the police database. Assuming his young attacker had a record, Oliver could easily track him down and scare some sense into the kid. Though at the moment, Oliver's preference would be a swift arrow to the heart. He'd decide later whether he felt like being the good guy or bad guy.

Driving his motorcycle back to the foundry with only one arm was rather difficult, but his ego was hurt far worse than his shoulder so Oliver easily endured the pain.

He clambered down the stairs and saw Felicity sitting as usual in front of her computers. Her back was to him but he could see her bouncy blonde ponytail and hear her muttering away to herself as she worked on some software program.

Despite his foul mood and the pain radiating through half his body, he couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him. Some things never changed, and for that he was grateful.

Oliver dropped his bow and arrows onto a nearby table and pushed his hood off his face using his uninjured arm.

Hearing the racket behind her, Felicity swiveled around in her chair, "Hey! I thought you'd be back, like, an hour ago. I was starting to wonder if we'd have to send out a search-" she finally registered the grimace of pain on his face and red patch on the front of his jacket as she jumped up from her chair.

"Oh, Oliver! I thought you said nothing happened at the robbery!" She eyed him accusingly as her hand hovered over the wound on his shoulder, unsure of if she should touch him.

"It didn't happen at the robbery." He ground out, still angry. "Where's Dig? I think he's going to have to sew this up."

"He left just after you called to say you were on your way back here. Went over to Carly's to help put his nephew to bed." She bit her lip and focused her eyes exactly one inch above his bloody shoulder, refusing to look at the damage.

"Ok," Oliver sighed, "you're going to give me stitches."

"_What?_" Felicity squeaked, "I-I can't do that, I have no medical training, I can't even sew a curtain, let alone someone's _skin_, oh god, I think I might barf. "

"Felicity...hey, hey, look at me." His voice was calm and reassuring as he cupped her cheek with his good hand and forced her to meet his gaze, "You'll be fine."

When her eyes connected with his, she visibly relaxed but continued to chatter away nervously.

"I should call Diggle. He'll know what to do. I mean, I've watched enough medical dramas that I know _what_ to do, I just can't physically do it. I'm not cool under pressure like the doctors on Grey's Anatomy or a sharp, loveable cynic like House." Her eyes were huge and worried, darting to different points on his face and then finally back to his eyes.

"You're really going to force Diggle to leave a little boy's bedside just to come back here and spend two minutes putting a couple stitches in me?" He raised an eyebrow, silently daring her to argue with that logic.

Felicity let out an aggravated sigh and pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead briefly. Oliver recognized it as her look of reluctant defeat. "You fight dirty, playing the 'little kid' card. Alright, tell me what to do."

"Good." Oliver tried to contain his smirk. Sometimes he just couldn't resist riling her up. "Grab some disinfectant and a suture kit out of the medical bag."

Felicity rushed over to the cabinet where they stored all their medical supplies, including Oliver's special concoctions that he brought back from the island. She grabbed what she needed and quickly returned to where he was seated on the edge of the steel medical table.

Seeing him on that piece of furniture immediately brought back memories of the night Felicity found him injured and seeking refuge in her car. The night he trusted her with his secret and she learned that The Hood and Oliver Queen were one and the same. The night she and Diggle had laid him out on that very table after he'd been shot by his own mother.

That had been the first time in Felicity's life that she had felt genuine, undiluted fear. _What if they couldn't save him?_

Shaking the remnants of those thoughts from her head, she dropped her supplies on the table and began to fumble into a pair of white latex gloves.

"Why do they make these things so hard to put on?" She muttered, finally getting all five fingers in the proper holes, "Good thing this isn't a life or death injury, cause you'd be dead before I'd even manage to get into these stupid gloves." She pulled the second glove into place, wincing as the elastic cuff snapped sharply against her wrist. "Ok, good to go. Now take off your shirt."

Oliver saw her cheeks immediately turn pink as she realized exactly what she said. His shoulder was still throbbing painfully but seeing her obvious discomfort was fun to watch. Any second now she would start babbling in an attempt to back-track and explain herself.

Sure enough, she squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment and the words rushed forward like a tidal wave, "I mean, I need you to be naked...from the waist up! Otherwise I can't see how bad the injury is. I'm just gonna shut up now."

Oliver chuckled to himself and unzipped his leather jacket, shrugging out of it with some help from Felicity. "Better?" He asked her when he noticed her staring at his exposed chest.

She quickly averted her eyes and started wetting a cloth with a bottle of antiseptic, "Um, yeah. Perfect. It's a perfect view of your shoulder, I mean. I wasn't implying that you have a perfect body, because you're my boss and it would be totally inappropriate for me to say that, even though your body is very, um...pleasant."

"Uh, thank you?" Oliver replied. He was pretty sure a compliment was buried somewhere in there.

"Ok, I'm going to sterilize the cut now." Felicity approached him and raised the cloth to his shoulder, giving him a warning before pressing the material to his skin, "This is going to sting."

Oliver gritted his teeth as his shoulder started burning with twice as much pain as before. When Felicity finally removed the cloth, he let out a breath of relief.

"Should I get something to numb your shoulder? I could run up to Verdant and grab some ice cubes from the bar." Felicity was looking a little queasy from the thought of what she would have to do next.

"It's fine," Oliver responded, "I've been through worse." He gestured to his scar-ridden skin.

"Right, sorry." Felicity winced.

"You ready?" Oliver asked, not wanting to bring up anything more on the topic of the island.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Felicity took a deep, steadying breath and picked up the threaded needle. She moved closer to his shoulder and Oliver could feel her warm breath hit his bare skin with every exhale. It was a nice feeling. He rarely let anyone into his personal life or personal space but somehow Felicity had infiltrated both.

"Just poke the needle in a little past the opening of the cut." Oliver instructed, "Then bring it through the other side. Nice and steady. Don't worry about hurting me, it'll hurt more if you go slowly and don't put enough pressure on the needle."

"Oh sure, no problem at all." She muttered sarcastically as she gathered her courage and pierced his skin with the needle.

"Ha! I did it!" She exclaimed, quickly completing the first stitch and flashing him a dazzling smile.

"I knew you could." Oliver turned his head towards her so their faces were only inches apart. "You're Felicity Smoak, you can do _anything_."

She blushed at the honest emotion in his voice and quickly looked down, focusing on starting the second stitch. "So, are you going to tell me how you got hurt?"

"Nope."


	3. Chapter 3

This was a fun one to write. I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

_Summary: When Detective Lance shows up at Verdant asking questions, Felicity provides an alibi for Oliver._

Felicity was in a good mood.

Not that she was ever really miserable, but today she was feeling especially cheery. She had finally perfected the code for an extremely complex firewall she created for Queen Consolidated. Afterwards, she treated herself to a cheeseburger for dinner to celebrate her accomplishment, and now she was on her way to the secret lair she shared with a crime-fighting vigilante and his military-trained bodyguard partner.

It was like something straight out of the pages of Marvel or DC Comics. For a tech-geek such as herself, this was the stuff dreams were made of.

Locking her car, Felicity stuffed the keys in her purse and made her way up the front steps of Verdant.

It was still early, only a little after 7 p.m. She had purposely arrived much earlier than usual with the hope of slipping into the empty club unnoticed and scurrying down to the arrow cave. She was eager to install her new impenetrable firewall on all of Oliver's - or as she liked to think of them, her - computers.

It was silent in the club except for the click-clack of her bright orange heels hitting the floor (they complimented her pink cardigan quite nicely, another thing she was pleased about today).

As she neared the concealed doorway that would lead her down into the foundry, voices floated over from the bar making Felicity jump with surprise.

"_...happy to answer any of your questions, Detective, but..."_

"_...not until I hear the truth, Queen."_

That didn't sound good.

Felicity bit her lip and considered her options. One, she could continue downstairs to the safety and comfort of her computers, or two, she could follow the sound of those voices and deposit herself into a situation involving the police and Oliver Queen.

She debated for a few more seconds until her curiosity won out and she decided to see what the police wanted with Oliver. In the early stages of their friendship – would you call it a friendship? Some days Felicity didn't know how to define her relationship with Oliver – she had been witness to many of his ridiculous lies that were more transparent than a sheet of glass. She could only hope that he was a more convincing liar when Starling City's finest were grilling him.

Rounding the corner, Felicity saw Oliver sitting on a bar stool next to an older man in a dark suit jacket. Though Oliver's posture looked relaxed with one arm propped up on the countertop, Felicity knew better. Even from a distance she could see the rigidity in his shoulders and the tightness of his mouth. He was pissed off, but hiding it well behind his care-free playboy facade.

When Oliver spotted her, a genuine smile lit his face and his body lost some of its tenseness.

"Sorry to interrupt." Felicity apologized as she approached the two men. "I thought I was the only one here, but then I heard voices."

"No problem at all." Oliver's eyes followed her as she walked up to stand beside him. "This is Detective Lance. Detective, meet Felicity Smoak. She's been setting up some wireless internet for our customers. You know kids these days, if it isn't posted on Facebook, it never happened." He smiled tightly at the detective.

Ah, the infamous Detective Lance, Felicity thought. Tough cop with a grudge against the Queens and father to the flawless Laurel Lance. Did that make her sound jealous of Laurel? Because she really wasn't. At least, not all that much.

Felicity shook the detective's hand briefly, good mood quickly disappearing and being replaced with anxiety. Cops always made her nervous. It was probably an irrational fear but Felicity had hacked a handful of databases and security systems that she'd rather the police never found out about...and that number seemed to keep growing the more she worked with Oliver.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Just needed to speak to Mr. Queen here about his whereabouts over the last few weeks." Lance replied gruffly.

Felicity didn't miss the distaste in his voice when he mentioned Oliver's name. "Oh?" She feigned confusion.

"I have evidence suggesting that Oliver is somehow linked to the vigilante, The Hood."

"Evidence, like what?" Felicity questioned "DNA? Security camera footage?"

"Nah," Lance dismissed her with a wave of his hand, "It's all circumstantial but there are too many occasions for me to think it's all just a coincidence. So Queen, care to explain to me where you were two nights ago while The Hood was putting an arrow through Peter Holmes?" His hard gaze turned to Oliver.

Before Oliver could respond, Felicity spoke up, "Peter Holmes? I heard about that on the news. You do realize that he was a crooked banker, right? He stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his client's accounts. Seems to me that The Hood did you guys a favour by finding him-"

"I don't need your opinion, Ms. Smoak." Lance cut her off with an annoyed look.

"Two nights ago," Oliver finally spoke, "I was here, as always."

"Funny, because I interviewed dozens of witnesses who were at your club that night and none of them saw you for even a second." The detective shot back.

"Oh, well..." Oliver struggled for an excuse.

Felicity noticed the hand resting on Oliver's leg was balled into a tight fist. He was panicking but careful to not let it show on his face. She needed to jump in and save him, but what kind of excuse could she give that would fool the detective?

Suddenly, she had an idea. Quentin Lance hated Oliver with every fibre of his being because the old, pre-island Oliver had been a womanizer whose careless, self-centered attitude had broken the heart of one daughter and gotten the other one killed. While Felicity knew differently, as far as Lance was concerned, Oliver hadn't changed at all in those five years on the island. The only explanation Lance would believe would be that Oliver was once again putting his wants above everything else.

"The truth is," Felicity spoke to the detective while she set a hand on Oliver's shoulder, "Oliver was at my apartment that night. He just wanted everyone to think he was at Verdant so Tommy wouldn't get mad at him for shirking his duties as part owner. Right, Ollie?" She gave Oliver a big, sugar-coated smile.

A rueful grin crossed Oliver's face as he followed Felicity's lead seamlessly. "You caught me, Detective." He admitted in a 'sorry, not sorry' kind of way that surely had the detective's blood boiling. "Sorry to ruin your theory but I was with Felicity _all_ night, if you know what I mean."

His hand slid around Felicity to rest on the small of her back and she nearly keeled over from the contact combined with the fact that he had just implied – to a police officer! – that they had slept together.

"You ok, babe? You look a little pale." He looked up at her, fully playing the part of concerned boyfriend.

"Fine...I'm fine." Felicity responded weakly. Just trying to process the Oliver Queen boyfriend experience, she thought to herself.

Huh, suddenly she couldn't feel her legs.

She made a mental note to pump her symptoms into Web MD later. Or maybe she'd hit up the Seventeen Magazine website instead for a few "is he your dream crush?" quizzes. She had a sinking suspicion that those would give her more answers than any medical encyclopedia ever could.

Lance eyed the pair doubtfully and Felicity could tell that he was almost buying their little act, it would just take a bit more proof...

She slid closer to Oliver's side before swooping in and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Immediately, alarm bells went off in her head. Not good! She stepped way over the line! Kissing her boss, what was she thinking? After this, she would never be able to set foot in the same room as Oliver without blushing the same shade of pink as her beloved cardigan.

Felicity had expected some kind of surprised response from Oliver, but instead he just looped his arm further around her and pulled her flush against his side. Of course, Oliver Queen was the picture of composure. It made sense, Felicity thought, nothing could possibly ruffle a man who spent every day improvising and adapting in order to hide the fact that he moonlighted as a crime-fighting hero. She used the term 'hero' loosely. After all, The Hood had done some pretty questionable things in the name of justice. Good thing he had her to keep him accountable for his actions. She totally deserved a pay raise when this was all over.

"Alright, I've seen enough," Detective Lance had a sour look on his face as be observed the way Felicity was practically glued to Oliver's side. "You're off the hook since Ms. Smoak has vouched for you, but next time it's going to take a lot more than blondie here to convince me that you're innocent."

"I dye it, actually..." Felicity trailed off as Lance stood, causing the bar stool to scrape across the floor noisily. After he strode away and Felicity heard the doors to Verdant slam shut, she let out a relieved sigh and sagged against Oliver.

"Thanks Felicity, you really saved me back there." Oliver said with his arm still snugly holding her to his side. His voice had dropped an octave and it, combined with the heat of his body, was doing funny things to her stomach.

"Me? I just came up with the excuse, you're the one who...um...followed through." She replied awkwardly. "Speaking of which, Lance is long gone." She leaned into him and bumped her shoulder against his as a silent reminder that he was still holding onto her in a way that suggested she really was his girlfriend.

"I know." His hand started moving up and down her back. It was warm and soothing and Felicity would have been quite happy if he could continue doing that forever. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

And for once, Felicity didn't say a single word.


	4. Chapter 4

This one was inspired by an episode of 30 Rock. I thought the idea was clever and just the right amount of crazy for Felicity. Enjoy!

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_Summary: Oliver is dreading the family vacation Moira has planned in honor of his birthday. When the plans fall through, he has Felicity and her unusual birthday gift to thank._

Oliver's morning was not off to a good start.

He chewed his toast and tried to swallow his anger at the same time. His mother wanted to go on vacation _now_? When he was so close to uncovering the identity of the Dark Archer?

"You've been working so hard on your club lately and your birthday is only a few days away," Moira commented, spreading raspberry jam on half a bagel, "I thought you could use some relaxation."

"_Paris_," Thea breathed with excitement, "The food, the shopping, it'll be so much fun Ollie!"

"For three whole weeks?" Oliver grimaced into his glass of orange juice, "Really mother, this doesn't need to be a big production, it's not even an important birthday. I'll only be 29. We could save the trip for next year." He reasoned.

Moira's face fell and Oliver saw her try to hide her disappointment by lifting her coffee cup to her lips, "It's your decision, Oliver. We just hoped to spend a little more quality time with you. Ever since you got back from the island..." her voice trailed off as the struggled to explain, "you just don't seem yourself. Always alone in your room or working at Verdant. We never see you."

Across the table, Thea pouted in agreement with her mother. "Yeah, why don't you ever want to do anything fun anymore?"

Oliver sighed and pushed his scrambled eggs around on his plate. Sure, the old Oliver would have no problem with jetting off to Paris for a whole month, drinking wine every day and flirting with French models, but the new Oliver immediately panicked at the thought of leaving Starling City unprotected for that long. Especially with a dangerous copy-cat archer on the loose.

He made the mistake of glancing at his sister and her sad, puppy-dog look hit him like an arrow to the heart. Yes, he had made a commitment to protect the city, but he was also committed to his family. It was time that he put them first.

"Okay," he relented, forcing a grin to his face. He hoped it looked more convincing than it felt. "Paris here we come."

"Yes!" Thea fist-pumped, bouncing in her chair. "This calls for victory bacon!"

* * *

That evening Diggle found Oliver training in the foundry, doing upside-down sit ups while hanging from a metal ceiling beam.

"Who pissed you off?" He questioned, coming to stand below Oliver. He had been friends with Oliver for long enough to know that he trained like a machine when he was angry.

"My mother wants to take me to Paris for my birthday." Oliver ground out, completing another sit up.

"How dare she." Diggle's response was overflowing with sarcasm, "Rough life you've got, Queen."

"For three weeks, Dig." Oliver ignored the jab from Diggle as well as the sweat trickling into his eyes as he did yet another rep. "I can't be away for that long."

"I hope you said yes. You could use the rest and Felicity and I can handle things while you're gone." Diggle assured him.

"What are we handling?" A familiar voice filled the foundry as Felicity descended the stairs clutching her tablet in one hand and a styrofoam coffee cup in the other.

"Oliver's brooding over a Paris vacation." Diggle informed her.

"For real?" Felicity questioned, looking up to where Oliver hung, "You billionaires always have to have something to complain about, huh?"

"You forget...that I have...obligations to this city." Oliver replied between sit ups. Exhausted, he grabbed the bar with his hands and lowered his legs before dropping down to the floor.

As he straightened, he immediately felt Felicity's eyes land on his bare torso and his mood improved just a little. He loved the way she tried to hide her attraction to him. She was so different from every other woman he knew. Instead of blatant flirting and suggestive touches, she fumbled through conversations and blushed every time he invaded her personal space. Which he had started doing quite often because he liked to see her shiver every time he not-so-accidently brushed against her.

"You don't owe the city anything, Oliver. Go spend some time with your family for once and enjoy your birthday." Diggle urged, tossing him a clean towel.

Oliver caught it easily and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Wait, it's your birthday?" Felicity exclaimed, "How did I not know this? Why didn't you tell me?!" She turned to Diggle and jabbed him in the arm with her finger.

"It's not until the day after tomorrow." Oliver explained, "So you can stop assaulting Dig now." He smiled as Felicity blushed and withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," She apologized to the man beside her.

"No worries," Diggle chuckled, "You have weak arms. We're gonna have to work on that."

Felicity groaned and collapsed into her computer chair. "New topic, please. Oliver, you don't want to go to Paris? Weirdo. I would sell my first born for a vacation like that. Actually, no I wouldn't, but you know what I mean."

Oliver shook his head and approached the computer desk. "A lot can happen in three weeks. I can't risk leaving." He reached past Felicity and grabbed the grey t-shirt he had tossed there earlier. As he leaned in, he heard her inhale sharply. He raised an eyebrow at her, grinning widely as her cheeks quickly turned pink and she spun around in her chair, busying herself with powering up all her computers.

"So you told your mother 'no'?" She sounded a little breathless when she spoke.

"Not exactly." Oliver ran a hand over his short hair and sighed, "I said I would go."

"But you have no intention of actually going." It was more of a statement than a question and Oliver was amused to see that she was completely focused on her computer screens, refusing to look at him now.

"Right." He agreed.

Diggle shook his head, smiling at Oliver, "Good luck getting out of this one."

* * *

When the big day finally arrived, Oliver was another year older but not feeling any wiser. In fact, the plane to Paris was leaving in two hours and he still hadn't told his mother that he wasn't coming.

He stood outside the door to the study where he could hear Moira moving about inside while the news played quietly on their large flat screen television.

Here was The Hood, feared vigilante who had taken on countless dangerous opponents, hiding in a hallway from his own mother. Oliver sighed and pushed the door open, bracing himself for his mother's disappointment.

"Mother, I have to tell you-" He began.

"Oh, Oliver. Did you already hear the news?" Moira gestured to the television which was tuned to the city's 24-hour news channel.

Oliver reached for the remote and turned up the volume, listening intently in case he needed to suit up as The Hood to deal with whatever problem was currently plaguing the city.

"_...following a report of a suspicious package at the Starling City International Airport, police have evacuated the building and all flights have been cancelled until further notice..."_

"Unfortunate, isn't it?" Moira sighed and played with her simple pearl necklace, a habit she developed whenever she was upset. "It looks like our vacation is cancelled. Your sister is going to be so disappointed."

"That's really a shame." Oliver said solemnly, "You should probably break it to her now before all of her luggage is brought out to the car."

Moira nodded and left the room, stopping to touch Oliver's arm gently, "I'm sorry our plans didn't work out."

"It's not your fault." Oliver turned off the television. "I'm going to take care of a few things at the club since my afternoon is free. I'll be back in time for a family birthday dinner though." He smiled at his mother.

"That sounds wonderful. Happy birthday, Oliver. I'm very proud of the man you've become." She was quiet for a minute with a contemplative, far-away look in her eyes. Then she straightened her white silk blouse and smiled up at him before leaving to tell Thea the news.

Oliver couldn't believe his luck. He shook his head in bewilderment and pulled his car keys from the pocket of his jeans. It was time to do a little investigating to find out who pulled that stunt at the airport and whether they were a danger to the city.

Oliver arrived at Verdant in record time thanks to the light mid-day traffic. Most of Starling City was hard at work instead of commuting on the roads. So when he jogged down the steps into the foundry, the last thing he expected to see was Felicity sitting at her computers, typing away on the keyboard.

"Felicity? What are you doing here?" Oliver questioned, coming to stand beside her chair. "It's the middle of the day."

"Don't worry, I'm not skipping out on my real job, boss." She spun around in her chair to face him, "I just decided to take my lunch break here so I could wait for you." She held up a french fry, waving it in his face.

"Wait for me? How did you know I would be here? My plane was just cancelled," he glanced down at the Cartier watch strapped to his wrist, "half an hour ago."

"I know." Felicity was smiling with more radiance than usual. She looked like she was about to burst with glee.

"What are you saying? Felicity did you..." Oliver couldn't bring himself to finish the accusation. She wouldn't, would she?

"Call the airport with a fake bomb threat? Yeah, I kind of did." She adjusted her glasses and her red lips quirked up into a grin, "Surprise!"

"Are you out of your mind? What if the police trace the call back to you?" Oliver felt a momentary surge of anger. How could she put herself at risk like that?

"Relax Oliver. I'm a pro, remember?" Her dazzling smile helped ease his worries and before long Oliver found himself laughing the first real, hearty laugh he'd had in a very long time.

"Felicity Smoak," he said as soberly as possible through his laughter, "You committed a felony for my birthday?"

She blushed at his use of her full name and nodded. "Well, I tried to think of something that you really wanted but you have like, a billion dollars so what could I possibly buy you? Then I got thinking about how much you didn't want to take that vacation, so...yeah." She shrugged a shoulder like it was no big deal and popped another fry in her mouth.

Before she could even react, Oliver took her arm and pulled her up from her chair, enveloping her in a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear, "that is the craziest, most thoughtful gift I've ever received."

He felt her arms wrap around his shoulders timidly at first, but then she seemed to gain some confidence as she returned the hug just as tightly as he did. "You're very welcome. Happy birthday, Oliver." The sincerity in her voice made his chest tighten with emotion. How long had it been since he'd had someone so honestly care about him with no hidden agenda? Longer than he could remember. He leaned forward and placed a kiss against her temple in a silent show of thanks.

Arms still wrapped around her, Oliver gazed over the top of Felicity's shoulder to see the remains of her lunch spread out over her desk. "Is that a club sandwich?"

"Yes it is and no, I'm not sharing." Felicity quipped, resting her cheek against his chest, "You may be the birthday boy, but a girl's gotta eat. Breaking the law really works up an appetite."

Oliver pulled back just enough to make eye contact with her before smiling suggestively, "Oh, I know."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay, guys. I was out of the country last week on vacation but now I'm back and ready to write!

Word has been auto-correcting "Starling" to "starlight" on me, so if you see typos in this or any previous chapter, feel free to point them out so I can fix them. Thanks!

* * *

_Summary: Felicity wakes Oliver from a nightmare._

She couldn't sleep.

That was Felicity's excuse anyway, as she navigated her Mini Cooper into the parking lot of Verdant at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m.

The real truth was that she had felt on edge ever since Walter Steele had been found alive and returned home safely.

It was happy news that shouldn't have left her feeling troubled but it did, solely for the fact that she had made it very clear to Oliver that once Mr. Steele was found, her association with The Hood would be over.

After replaying that particular conversation with Oliver in her mind for the bazillionth time, she had untangled herself from her bed sheets and dressed quickly and quietly in the dark before coming to the arrow cave. She hoped that sitting in her familiar chair in front of all those monitors would ease the heavy ball of anxiety in her stomach and allow her make a rational decision about her future with The Hood. With Oliver.

Not that she and Oliver had any real "future" in the romantic sense. They were only friends. Colleagues in crime-fighting. It pained her to admit it, but that fact was causing her the most grief right now.

If she were to leave, she would slip back into her role of forgettable IT girl in a room full of forgettable IT nerds who only existed to fix some corporate executive's laptop that he had wrecked for one silly reason or another. Seriously, those guys couldn't even tell the difference between a flash drive and a fiber-optic cable. Totally useless.

Maybe someday she would see Oliver again in passing (perhaps he would bring her a laptop that actually was the victim of a spilled latte next time) but he would be back in the role of boss and billionaire playboy. There would be none of their usual banter, no secretive smiles, and no light touches that she'd grown so accustomed to. They would slowly slip out of each other's lives until The Hood was nothing but a fond memory to her. After all, what did she have in common with Oliver Queen outside of his secret identity?

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Felicity sighed and pushed her hair over her shoulder as she unlocked the door to the foundry. She hadn't bothered with make-up or her usual ponytail so her hair fell around her face in a mess of waves. After all, it was the middle of the night and the nice thing about computers was that they didn't care about appearances.

She stepped into the quiet calm of the foundry and deposited her purse on her desk before flicking on a nearby table lamp for a little extra light. Sometimes that big old building got creepy. Not that she'd ever admit it to Oliver and Diggle. They'd make fun of her for weeks and probably set up some stupid ghost prank to scare her half to death one night.

Naturally, as soon as she was thinking of ghosts, Felicity heard a rustling noise behind her.

"Eek!" She jerked around to face the source of the sound and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth to cut off her startled scream. It was just Oliver, asleep on the couch in the corner of the room.

"God, Oliver. I think you just took five years off my life." She muttered quietly as she tried to calm her pounding heart. She took a few tentative steps towards him to better see his face.

Even as he slept he looked agitated and Felicity's heart went out to him. The poor guy was never able to get any rest. She could completely relate to that tonight.

She knew that she should get back to her computers. She had piles of research she could be working on now that they knew Malcolm Merlin was somehow connected to Mr. Steele's kidnapping, but Felicity found that she couldn't move from her place in front of Oliver as she watched him sleep.

Geez, he was handsome. Even with frown lines disrupting his forehead and dark bags under his eyes. As he stirred on the couch, his eyebrows knit together giving him a troubled look and Felicity wished that she could do something to help him. She hated to see such a good man carry such a heavy burden and she wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to him on that island.

She'd seen the way Oliver immediately shut down when faced with questions about his time on the island (seriously, that man's scowl put grumpy cat to shame), so Felicity avoided the topic like the plague. She figured he would eventually tell her when he was ready, and until then, she knew he appreciated the fact that she never pushed him or demanded answers.

A sudden grunt from Oliver pulled Felicity from her thoughts and she quickly averted her eyes from his face to the floor. The last thing she needed was for Oliver to wake up and see her standing over him like a total weirdo.

She turned back to her computers, thinking she'd maybe make a pro/con list of staying on Team Hood. Or play a game of solitaire. She could go either way right now.

After winning her third round of the electronic card game, Felicity grew tired of it and moved onto the pro/con list. She opened a blank document and divided it into two columns. Then she stared at the empty page and chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of how to proceed.

Finally, under the "pro" side she typed: keep saving lives. Then just as quickly, she added to the "con" side: keep killing people.

Hmmm...this wasn't exactly working out.

Over the next hour she alternated between watching Oliver sleep, tweaking her computer firewalls, and adding a few other points to her list. Just for fun, she finished off the "pro" column by adding "Oliver's abs" while snickering like a little kid.

From his place across the room, Oliver grunted again. Felicity could hear the old couch squeaking as he thrashed around. It looked like he was having a really bad dream. Should she wake him? The last thing Felicity wanted was to be sleep-strangled by Oliver. She had a feeling that he could literally snap a person's neck in his sleep so she really didn't want to take her chances, but she couldn't just sit there and watch him in distress, right?

She stood and approached Oliver hesitantly. He wasn't thrashing as much now, but a fine layer of sweat covered his forehead and he was groaning what sounded like "no" over and over again.

Okay, action time.

Felicity moved to the side of the couch instead of directly in front of it. She figured that if Oliver had any instinctual 'must-kill-whoever-touches-me' freakout, he couldn't grab her as easily from that spot.

Holding her breath, she reached down and placed a hand softly on Oliver's shoulder. He didn't wake up, so she tried shaking him lightly.

When he continued to mutter and moan, Felicity rolled her eyes. Of course he had to make this difficult.

She crouched so her face was almost even with Oliver's head where it rested on the arm of the couch. Then she took a deep breath and spoke in her loudest, most authoritative voice (it kind of reminded her of her mother, actually. Scary.)

"Oliver, wake up!"

That had the desired effect. Oliver bolted upright and looked around, trying to get his bearings. When it finally registered that Felicity had shouted his name, his eyes found hers urgently.

"Felicity? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she moved to sit next to Oliver on the edge of the couch, "You were having a nightmare. Want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

"No."

It was exactly the answer she expected, so Felicity didn't push the subject. She just nodded and leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes briefly. Her late night was finally catching up to her.

"What were you working on at this hour?" Oliver broke the silence and shifted to get a better look at her computer screens.

"Uh, nothing!" Felicity responded quickly. She could feel her face turning red. Why hadn't she deleted that ridiculous list? Stupid, stupid Felicity.

Oliver raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, "My abs made your list? I'm honored."

"Ignore that," Felicity said, waving her hands wildly towards the computer, "I was just being silly."

"But you're seriously debating whether or not to leave." It was a statement, not a question.

"Uhh..." Felicity Smoak was speechless. That's a first.

"I have one to add to your 'pro' column" Oliver said, ignoring the fact that she hadn't responded, "the fact that you make me better, and not just as The Hood. I'm a better man because of you, Felicity." He took her hand and their fingers slid together automatically, "Please stay. I...I don't think I can do this without you."

It was hard for him to admit, she could see it clearly in the way his voice deepened with emotion and his eyes refused to focus on her face, like he was afraid. Maybe he was, Felicity realized, afraid of finally opening up to someone and being rejected.

"Oliver..." her voice caught half way through his name. Where had this honest, unguarded Oliver come from all of a sudden? It was really unexpected and really, really sweet. "You big softie. Don't make me cry. My eyes get all red and I sniffle and it's so not attractive." She blinked her eyes rapidly behind her glasses.

"That wasn't my intention." He looked at her with concern, "I just wanted you to know before you make your decision."

Seeing the sincerity on his face combined with the warm comfort of his hand holding hers made Felicity's decision incredibly easy. Pro/con list be damned, she didn't need any more time to think it over.

"I think it's already been made." She replied, squeezing his hand.

Then she noticed just how closely they were seated together on the couch. Their knees were brushing and Oliver's face was awfully close to her own (not that she was complaining).

Oliver seemed to realize this at the same time, but instead of pulling back he leaned in and reached up to tuck a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. His hand lingered, fingers brushing the side of her neck, and Felicity shivered with delight. She leaned into him just a bit, not brave enough to completely close the gap between them. Lucky for her, Oliver held all the courage she lacked. His hand found the back of her neck and he pulled her into a kiss.

It was magical. That was the only thing that registered in Felicity's head before further thought escaped her and her whole body heated with desire, like she'd just stepped into a warm bath. It was a kiss that started out slow and tender but quickly swelled with an intensity that left her dizzy.

Oliver's hands slid over her shoulders, down her arms and back up again, lighting her skin on fire everywhere they touched.

She was just as eager to touch him and wasted no time running her short painted nails over his back. She desperately wanted to move her hands underneath his shirt to finally feel the skin and scars she'd been admiring from afar for so long, but Felicity didn't quite have the courage for that yet. Next time, for sure. God, she hoped there would be a next time.

When they finally broke apart for breath, they stared at each other. Felicity had somehow ended up in Oliver's lap, pressed tightly against his chest while her lower half was tangled in the scratchy wool blanket he had been using for his nap.

"Wow" she breathed. That was easily the best kiss of her life.

"Yeah." Oliver agreed, settling his hands on her hips.

'You felt that? It was like an explosion...an explosion of awesomeness." She amended. "I think I saw stars." She was honestly surprised by the amount of chemistry she felt between them. She'd always thought that kind of intensity only existed in romance novels or movies.

A teasing, thoughtful look crossed Oliver's face. "I don't know. I think I did, but maybe I'd better check again, just to be sure." He grinned at her and closed the distance between them to kiss her thoroughly, again and again.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter is brought to you by two cups of coffee and Stage 3 of le Tour de France (go team Radioshack!)

I have some new ideas kicking around so you may see another Arrow fic from me later this summer. In the meantime, enjoy the ending and thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and favorited this story. You guys are awesome!

* * *

_Summary: Oliver struggles to define his relationship with Felicity._

He watches her.

He'd like to be able to say that it's not in a creepy stalker kind of way but that would probably be a lie.

In fact, he's become addicted to it. It was something he eagerly looked forward to every chance he got. Something he couldn't stop, even if he'd wanted to.

Oliver shifted to a more comfortable position from where he was perched on the fire escape outside of Felicity's bedroom window, green hood still pulled down low to cover most of his face.

He tried to tell himself that it was only out of duty and obligation that he sat outside her window each night when she wasn't at the foundry. She'd had some close calls in the past – Helena and the bomb collar incident, for example – and lately he felt compelled to keep a closer eye on her. After all, it was only because of him that she was ever in danger. That made her safety his responsibility.

At first, he'd been a gentleman about it; always averting his eyes when she entered her bedroom wet and wrapped in a fluffy white towel or when she danced around in her short, skimpy pyjama bottoms while listening to the radio.

But now he watched her greedily, memorizing every inch of her bare shoulders and admiring the pale, creamy skin of her legs.

This carefree, completely relaxed Felicity was something he never got to see and now that he'd gotten a glimpse of it, he wanted more.

Their relationship had barely progressed since their first kiss that night at the foundry when she had woken him from another one of his nightmares about being tortured on the island, and Oliver blamed himself for that. Felicity was a constant struggle for him. At first, he had found her quirkiness nothing but amusing. Then he came to think of her as a loyal friend. Now, he tried (rather unsuccessfully) to resist the fact that he _ached_ to be with her. Literally. The desire was a constant, hollow feeling in his chest but he couldn't give in to it; her safety was more important to him. And she would be _so_ much safer if he could just distance himself from her, but he couldn't. She was like a magnet drawing him in with her rambling thoughts and bright smiles.

So he watched her from afar, hating himself a little more each night. Because he was weak and he couldn't stay away. Because she deserved commitment and he had to stop playing this game of hot and cold with her. There were endless reasons, really.

Tonight, Oliver could see that she was tidying her apartment. She folded laundry in her bedroom while bopping her head along to some song that played on her nearby computer. She was wearing an orange tank top and loose grey sweatpants. She looked stunning.

All of a sudden the lights flickered out and Felicity's room grew dark. Oliver instantly sat up straighter on high alert.

He could hear Felicity mutter a curse from inside the bedroom. She walked out the door and Oliver's heart jumped into his throat. What was going on? Was it a robbery? An attempted kidnapping? He reached over his shoulder and fingered one of the arrows that rested on his back reassuringly, ready to draw his bow if need be.

His fears dissipated when she returned a moment later, carrying a package of light blubs in one hand and using the other to drag a kitchen chair into the room behind her.

A burnt-out bulb.

He had been prepared to shoot an intruder in the heart and it was just a burnt-out light bulb.

He leaned back against the cold metal of the fire escape and forced himself to take a few deep breaths. Never act in haste; slow down, plan, and then act. It was one of the most important rules that had been drilled into Oliver's head on the island and he had just nearly broken it. How was it that Felicity caused him to lose all sense of reason?

When he looked back into her apartment, he saw Felicity balanced on the edge of the chair, reaching up to remove the old bulb and screw a new one into the ceiling fixture.

Even with the chair, she was still a bit too short. She rose up on her tip-toes as she tried to put the new light bulb in place.

She was leaning too far forward, Oliver could see. In an instant, his hand was pulling up the window pane and he was slipping inside the apartment, making it to Felicity just in time to catch her as the chair tipped forward and she lost her balance.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, expecting the pain of hitting her hardwood floor but when she stopped falling, her eyes opened to find herself being held in the arms of The Hood.

"Oliver! Where did you come from? Not that I'm complaining, this sure beats landing on the floor. You're way more comfy and you smell really nice." She clamped her mouth shut, obviously embarrassed that her last confession had slipped out.

"Don't you have a step ladder?" Oliver ignored her comment, "It's much safer."

Felicity attempted a shrug but it didn't quite come out right, given that half of her body was pressed against Oliver's chest. "Too lazy. It's all the way in the storage closet."

Oliver shook his head in disbelief, "Promise me you'll get the ladder next time. I may not always be around to catch you when you fall."

Felicity bit her lip and nodded, sensing that there was a deeper meaning to his words. "But you caught me this time. Thanks for that. You're like my knight in shining armour...or, knight in scuffed green leather, more precisely."

Oliver cracked a smile and reluctantly set her down on her feet, trying to remind himself that distance was important.

He started to back away from her but was surprised to find Felicity grabbing both the sleeves of his Hood outfit in her fists, keeping him from withdrawing any further. Slowly, she reached up and pushed the oversized hood off his face.

"Better." She spoke softly, her hands resting up on his shoulders while her eyes studied his face. Then she cleared her throat and quickly disappeared through the door, calling out behind her, "I'm thirsty, want some water?"

Oliver was momentarily stunned. For one crazy, unlikely moment he had thought Felicity might kiss him...and for one crazy, unlikely moment he had _hoped_ that she would.

Wishful thinking.

He exhaled loudly and scrubbed a hand over his face before finally following her into the kitchen, where he found Felicity leaning against the counter with a glass of water in hand. A second glass meant for him sat on the countertop next to her.

Oliver grabbed the glass and downed its contents in two big gulps. Beside him, he heard Felicity try to hold back a snicker.

"What?" He asked after setting the glass in the sink and copying Felicity by letting his weight rest against the kitchen counter.

"Nothing." She answered innocently.

Oliver turned to face her with a look that said 'come on, out with it'.

Sure enough, she had more to say. "It's just...don't you ever savour anything? I know it's only water but jeez, slow down. Stop and smell the roses, you know?"

Oliver gave the question some thought before replying, "I savour Big Belly burgers."

This time, Felicity gave a small snort, "Yeah, but everyone savours those. They're extraordinarily good. You'd have to have no soul to say no to a Big Belly burger. Try again, mister." She bumped against him playfully with her shoulder.

Oliver could feel a small grin tugging at his lips. He always enjoyed these kinds of conversations with Felicity. They were a few precious moments of relaxation for him where he could have a normal discussion without feeling the pressure of having to keep up his pre-island persona.

"Okay then," Oliver turned to face Felicity, wetting his lips apprehensively before speaking, "I savour you. All the times you hold my hand or touch my shoulder, I savour the feeling. That night at the foundry..." he stopped to clear his throat which had suddenly gone dry, "we kissed, and every moment of it is ingrained in my head."

He knew he shouldn't have said any of that out loud. It completely undermined all his attempts to keep himself distant and professional around her, but he couldn't help it. He needed to see her reaction.

"Oh." Felicity's voice was soft and surprised. She played with the empty water glass in her hands to avoid looking up at him, "I remember it too. Actually, 'remember' isn't the right word. It's more like it's burned into my memory and I see it every time I close my eyes."

Her quiet admission made Oliver's heart soar. _She felt the same_. But then reality came crashing back down on him. This didn't change anything; he still couldn't risk her safety by being with her.

He must have been too quiet for too long because Felicity was suddenly very close to him with a look of concern on her face.

"I can see the wheels turning," she said, reaching up to tap a finger against his temple, "what's going on in there?"

He opened his mouth to give his standard response of 'nothing' but Felicity cut him off as if she had read his mind.

"Don't tell me it's nothing." She said sternly, "That might work on everyone else but it won't on me."

Oliver sighed. Sometimes she was just too damn perceptive.

"I worry about you." He finally admitted, "I can't stop worrying about your association with The Hood. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Oliver, did you force me into joining Team Hood?" Felicity spoke slowly and patiently, as if she were addressing a child.

"Yes," Oliver answered immediately with no hesitation, "That night I broke into your car, when..." _when my own mother shot me_, were the words he couldn't get out, "I made you a part of this."

"No! You're supposed to say 'no, Felicity, I didn't force you'." She had lowered her tone in an awful attempt at mimicking his voice. "It was _my_ decision. Everything I do is my own decision. You're not the boss of me...except, yeah, you actually are. But you know what I mean." She pushed her glasses up and met his eyes determinedly. "'Destiny is not the path given to us, but the path we choose for ourselves'." She quoted to him.

Oliver stared at her blankly.

"It's from Megamind. You know, the superhero movie? Will Ferrell is a villain who turns into a good guy...?" Felicity tried to explain. She shook her head sadly, "You really need to get caught up on some pop culture."

"Your point?" Oliver asked gently, trying to nudge her back on track.

"My point is that I'm here willingly," Felicity replied, driving her point across my poking him in the chest with her finger, "and you know that if I have doubts about what we do, you'll hear about it, thanks to my giant mouth with no filter. So stop feeling guilty."

"Easier said than done. I'll try, though." Felicity was still gazing up at him with a fierce look on her face and Oliver couldn't help but smile at her.

Her expression melted into a smile as she changed the subject, "So what are you doing here? I mean, I'm grateful you were here to catch me earlier but I'm a big girl, I don't need a babysitter."

Oliver shrugged, "I was in the neighbourhood." He answered vaguely. "You should really think about moving. A few weeks ago there was a shooting just a couple of blocks from here."

"I know," Felicity sighed, "You've been bugging me about it ever since. Moving is just such a hassle and the rent here is cheap."

"I'll find you a new place." Oliver stated, "With 24-hour security and an alarm system."

Felicity laughed, shaking her head. "No way can I afford a place like that."

"I'll speak to your manager and get you a raise," Oliver reasoned, "I'm sure you deserve it."

She shook her head. "I don't want any special treatment. It'll give people at work the wrong impression."

"What impression would that be?" Oliver asked, leaning closer to her and crossing his arms over his chest.

"That, uh, we are somehow involved...romantically." She was getting flustered.

"What if we were?" Oliver asked before he could stop himself.

"I'd probably have to fill out some kind of waivers and speak to HR and everyone would treat me differently-"

Oliver cut her off, "No, Felicity. What would happen with _us_?" He stepped forward and placed his hands gently on her hips, punctuating his last word.

"Oh." The small sound escaped her mouth and Oliver took advantage of her parted lips by leaning in to kiss her.

She responded eagerly, matching his mouth's movements with her own.

Much sooner than Oliver would have liked, she pulled away.

"If we do this," Felicity warned breathlessly, "you can't have one foot in and one foot out of this relationship. You can't always be carrying around guilt about my safety or my happiness. Can you do that?"

The seriousness of her words startled Oliver. He rubbed the back of his neck and considered her demand before answering truthfully. "I can't promise that, but I hope you would realize that any time I over-react or get frustrated, it's only because I care so much. You mean the world to me, Felicity Smoak." He tightened his grip on her waist. "You deserve much more than I can give you, but I would try every single day to be enough for you."

Behind her glasses, Oliver could see her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Wow. That was super poetic." She blinked a few times and cleared her throat before standing on the tips of her toes to plant a small kiss on the underside of his jaw. "You mean the world to me too, Oliver Queen."

They made quite the picture, Oliver thought as he pulled Felicity's mouth to his once again, a vigilante decked out in green and his lion hearted IT girl locking lips in her tiny kitchen.

It had been a long time coming; he could see that now. They were inevitable. The first time he laid eyes on her, when she had eyed him so skeptically after he passed her a weak explanation and a bullet-ridden laptop, he'd felt a spark ignite that he'd been trying to ignore ever since. He was so tired of fighting his feelings for her on top of everything else he fought for daily as The Hood.

"Oliver?" Felicity mumbled against his lips.

"Hmm?" He replied wordlessly, too wrapped up in running his fingers through her soft blonde hair to properly respond.

"You can kiss me all you want but you're not buying me a new apartment."

Oliver smiled. There was the stubborn Felicity he knew and adored. "We'll talk later." He whispered lowly in her ear before placing a quick kiss to the side of her neck.

A shiver ran through her but she soon composed herself and brought a pout to her lips. "I forbid you from messing with my living situation."

Oliver raised his eyebrows, "Really, you forbid me?"

Felicity smiled up at him sweetly. "Yep" she said, popping the 'p'. She settled her arms up around his neck, fingers dancing over the soft green leather collar.

"Two minutes into this relationship and you're already telling me what to do." Oliver smirked teasingly, running his hand down her back.

Felicity rolled her eyes as her mouth stretched into a grin, "This shouldn't be news to you. I've been telling you what to do for months now."

"True," Oliver admitted, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
